The study has also found that infected cases from Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh played less role in spreading the disease outside their communities. (Express file photo by Amit Mehra)India, which is among the largest troop contributors to the UN peacekeeping, will deploy two medical teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after a request by UN chief Antonio Guterres to scale-up health infrastructure in the areas managed by the Indian peacekeepers to help contain the novel coronavirus outbreak.
India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement that the country responded to a request from UN Secretary-General Guterres and mobilised all efforts to assemble two teams of medical specialists to be deployed in hospitals at the UN missions in DR Congo and South Sudan.
With over 80,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths for yet another day, the Covid-19 tally in India on Friday rose to 3,936,747 with 68,472 fatalities, the latest data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed.
Travelling in Delhi metro will require passengers to keep alternate seats vacant.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday brought financing of start-ups under the priority sector lending (PSL) category of the banking sector, proposed more credit flow to districts with lower PSL, and doubled loan limits for renewable energy and health infrastructure “to align it with emerging national priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development.”
In a bid to address regional disparities in the flow of priority sector credit, the RBI, in its revised PSL guidelines, decided to rank districts on the basis of per capita credit flow to the priority sector, and build an incentive framework for districts with lower flow of credit and a disincentive framework for districts with higher flow of priority sector credit.
Uttar Pradesh on Friday reported a total of 6,193 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and a total of 72 deaths. The highest single-day jump in the state in fresh cases till date was reported on Sunday at 6,233. State capital Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases in the state with 924 cases in the past 24 hours, followed by Kanpur Nagar with 382 cases, Gorakhpur with 346 cases, and Prayagraj with 320. Read More
Ram Singh (49) was working as multi-purpose health worker in Tapa block of Barnala district. He was deputed for contact tracing and Covid awareness in Tapa. He was performing his duties as usual until last week, when he felt weak and took off for a day. He developed fever, cold and cough on August 31. However, his family attributed it to a change of season. He self-medicated until Wednesday, when he felt breathless and suffered a cardiac arrest. He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead. Read More
Expecting the numbers to stop surging by the third week of September, the health authorities launched a systematic sampling plan on September 1 in an attempt to survey at least 50 per cent of the urban population and 100 per cent of its rural population via monitoring led by ASHA workers. Read More
Mohali district saw its highest single-day surge in Covid-19 cases, as 272 fresh cases were reported on Friday. The district’s tally of cases stood at 4,495, with 2,058 active cases. Meanwhile, four more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 94. Read More
The Sonipat district administration has launched a massive contact-tracing drive after 81 workers at two popular eateries in Sonipat’s Murthal, nearly 50 km away from Delhi, tested positive for Covid-19. Read More
Forty-nine more deaths were reported from Punjab, driving up the total count of deaths due to Covid-19 in the state to 1,739 on Friday.
There were 1,498 new cases of infection, taking the total tally of persons testing positive for the contagion to 60,013, breaching the 60,000 mark. Read More
An elderly COVID-19 patient and her family were locked up inside their flat by a neighbour, who claimed that he feared that his newborn might get infected, a police officer said. Read More
More than 300 people have volunteered for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine trials in Mumbai at two sites, KEM and Nair hospitals. Both hospitals are awaiting Pune’s Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital to record vaccine efficacy in its first 100 participants before beginning trials in Mumbai. Read More
Two days after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal announced that his party workers “will provide oximeters to every village, street and neighbourhood of Punjab”, CM Amarinder Singh’s government on Friday decided to provide oximeters to all Covid-19 patients in home quarantine.
Punjab government has already floated tenders for procurement of 50,000 pulse oximeters as the state is witnessing a spike in Covid-19 cases. The government plans to start distributing the oximeters as soon as the first lot is received.
Delhi’s AAP government has been distributing pulse oximeters to Covid-19 positive residents there. After Kejriwal announced that his party will do so in Punjab too, CM Amarinder Singh and other Congress leaders had hit back at him for trying to use the pandemic for political gains.
A Punjab government official, however, said that the state government’s oximeter decision is not an afterthought.
As India and the world grapple with the COVID-19 global pandemic, frontline healthcare workers are facing some of the most challenging times of their lives. Doctors, nurses, ward boys, sanitation workers, security guards are continuing to risk their lives to treat patients and ensure their dignity. Medical professionals work demanding shifts wearing uncomfortable personal protective equipment (PPE) while making life-saving decisions under extreme pressure. Some of these decisions include allocating limited resources for severely ill patients. Combined with fatigue, this can lead to an imbalance in their own physical and mental well-being.
Healthcare professionals have been infected by the coronavirus and many have lost colleagues to this disease. This also has a huge impact on their mental health. Hospital staff who are quarantined often feel guilty about leaving the facilities understaffed. Periods of self-isolation and time away from family also add stress, Kapil Sharma, project coordinator, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) writes. Click here to read the article.
India, which is among the largest troop contributors to the UN peacekeeping, will deploy two medical teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after a request by UN chief Antonio Guterres to scale-up health infrastructure in the areas managed by the Indian peacekeepers to help contain the novel coronavirus outbreak. India's Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement that the country responded to a request from UN Secretary-General Guterres and mobilised all efforts to assemble two teams of medical specialists to be deployed in hospitals at the UN missions in DR Congo and South Sudan.
A new study published in the journal JAMA Network suggests airborne transmission in a bus in China led to one infected individual spreading of COVID-19 to 23 other fellow passengers.
Analysing community transmission in China’s Zhejiang province, the study reports that 128 individuals took two buses on January 19, 2020 — 60 in bus 1 and 68 in bus 2 — on a 100 minute round trip to attend a 150-minute worship event.
The source patient was a passenger on bus 2 and both the buses had central air conditioners functioning in indoor recirculation mode. Among these 128 individuals, 15 were men, 113 were women with a mean age of 58.6 years. On bus 2, 24 individuals turned out to be positive after the event, while none of the individuals in bus 1 were affected. Seven others who turned positive after the outdoor event had all come close to the index patient. Read the full explainer here.
The West Bengal government has allowed banks to operate on working Saturdays as part of further relaxations in COVID-related restrictions.
Banks, which usually operate on alternate Saturdays, were asked by the state government to remain shut on weekends in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to allow banking operations on Saturdays was taken in view of the current Covid situation and the relaxation in different activities permitted by the government outside the containment zones, PTI reported citing a government order.
Antibodies against the COVID-19 infection were found in eight per cent of people in the seroprevalence survey done in Haryana last month and those living in urban areas and NCR districts were found more affected, Health Minister Anil Vij said on Friday.
As many as 850 samples each were collected from 22 districts and the collection was done both in urban and rural areas, news agency PTI reported.
Overall, 18,905 samples were collected and the seroprevalence study showed that the seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is eight per cent in the state, Vij said.
He said that the urban population was affected more than the rural population.
Each day in Jakarta at 9 a.m. sharp, local government official Ricky Mulyana and three colleagues don full personal protective equipment, hoist a wooden coffin onto their shoulders and set out on a 'funeral' procession down busy city streets.
The coffin, wrapped in plastic, contains only an effigy. But as Indonesia struggles to contain a surge in coronavirus cases, authorities are trying shock tactics to catch the public's attention and drive home crucial health messages in a country that has the highest virus death toll in Southeast Asia. Click here to read the full report.
A World Health Organization spokeswoman said on Friday it does not expect widespread vaccinations against Covid-19 until the middle of next year, stressing the importance of rigorous checks on their effectiveness and safety.
"We are not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year," spokeswoman Margaret Harris was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"This phase 3 must take longer because we need to see how truly protective the vaccine is and we also need to see how safe it is," she added referring to vaccine clinical trials.
Delhi airport has set up a Covid-19 testing facility at the multi-level car parking area of its Terminal 3 for arriving international passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights, its operator DIAL said on Friday. It will be operational within a few days.
The testing facility has been established by the Delhi Airport International Limited (DIAL) in collaboration with Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, which is currently associated with the Delhi government to test Covid-19 samples, news agency PTI reported.
The Civil Aviation Ministry had on Wednesday said that international passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights after landing in India will have the option of getting themselves tested for Covid-19 at the entry airports.
The science behind a device that claims to have the capability of killing coronavirus in closed spaces by using electron particles, produced by a serial inventor in Bengaluru, has been called into question by several senior scientists in the country.
Shycocan, a device created by Rajah Vijay Kumar, who runs a firm called Organization de Scalene, has received wide publicity over the past few months following claims of approval from FDA and EU-CE for its marketing in the US and Europe.
The official Twitter account of the US Consulate General in Chennai tweeted on August 29, congratulating Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar for developing a device “approved by @US_FDA to control the spread of #COVID19”.
Vijay Kumar and Organization de Scalene have claimed that Shycocan, which is a cannon-like device, produces electrons that travel across a room and kills the SARS Cov 2 virus when a superalloy in the device is activated with electricity from a powerpoint. Click here to read the full report.
Train services between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, suspended since March due to COVID-19, would resume services from Friday.
This is part of the three special trains the Railway Board has permitted to operate in the South-Western railway division, news agency PTI reported.
The Yeshwanthpur-Karwar train would begin operations from 6.45 pm on Friday. In the return direction, the train would leave Karwar at 6 pm on Saturday, the railway said.
Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, reiterated on Thursday that COVID-19 vaccinations will not be obligatory when they become available.
"Many people want the vaccine to be applied in a coercive way, but there is no law that provides for that," Bolsonaro said in a Facebook live chat with his supporters. (Click here to follow Covid-19 global updates)
With more than 11.70 lakh samples tested for Covid-19 for two successive days (Wednesday and Thursday), the total number of such tests conducted in the country has surged to?4,66,79,145, while the daily positivity rate is still below 7.5 per cent, the health ministry said on Friday. "Even with this very high daily testing, the daily Covid-19 positivity rate is still below 7.5 per cent while the cumulative positivity rate is less than 8.5 per cent," it underlined. "These results reflect the successful Centre-led strategy of 'test, track and treat' being effectively implemented by most of the states and Union territories. No other country has achieved these levels of very high daily testing," the ministry stressed.
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) today issued a set of guidelines for passengers ahead of resuming operations on September 7. As per the guidelines, train services will be operational from 8 am to 8 pm. The Blue Line, which connects Airport Metro and Washermanpet Metro Station, will commence from September 7 while the Green Line, which connects St Thomas Mount and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Central Metro, will start functioning from September 9. CMRL said all the trains and stations will be disinfected frequently for the safety and security of passengers. The platform management staff will be deployed at stations to ensure social distancing and safe de-boarding of passengers. Face masks are compulsory at all times in all CMRL premises.
West Bengal Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on Thursday said MLAs, Assembly staff, security personnel and mediapersons would have to undergo rapid antigen tests before entering the Assembly for a short two-day monsoon session that will be held on September 9 and 10. Bandyopadhyay told reporters that a medical camp would be established at the premises for the purpose. Only those who test negative will be allowed to enter the building. The session would be held as per ICMR guidelines, he added. “The MLAs will have to maintain social distance and occupy specific seats that will be earmarked for them. Elderly legislators will sit in the main hall, and younger members will be asked to sit in the galleries. This time we will not be able to accommodate journalists inside the House as seats meant for them have to be kept empty to ensure social distancing. No guests will be allowed during the session. Vehicles have to be parked outside the main premises,” said the Speaker.
Kolkata Metro, which had stopped commercial services on March 24, is likely to restart operations from September 14. The decision was taken at a meeting between senior Metro Railway officials and the West Bengal government on Thursday. Both the state administration and Metro Rail officials said the modalities of implementing social-distancing norms and crowd management were discussed at the meeting. Another round of discussions will be held on Friday. “The meeting was very fruitful and several significant issues, including crowd management, were discussed. However, more elaborate discussions are needed. So, we will again meet tomorrow,” said Indrani Banerjee, Metro Chief Public Relations Officer. “The state government and the Metro authorities will have further discussion with the focus being on finding better solutions to manage crowds at the gates of the stations,” she added.
The superintendent of district jail and 27 inmates were found Covid19 positive, taking the total number of prisoners and staffers suffering from the disease to 390 here, officials said on Friday. In the district, 107 people tested positive on Thursday. This figure includes those found positive in the jails. Chief Medical Officer Praveen Chopra said four inmates of district jail, its superintendent and 23 inmates of temporary jail tested positive for the infection. Jail authorities said the total number of cases rose to 390 till Thursday with the 28 new cases.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider Friday a review plea by six opposition-ruled states against its August 17 order allowing the conduct of NEET (UG) and JEE (Mains) entrance examinations physically amidst Covid-19 pandemic. While rejecting the plea for further postponement of exams, the apex court had earlier said that “life cannot be stopped” and the “career of students cannot be put in jeopardy”. Six ministers from Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh had moved the apex court saying that if the order is not reviewed, “grave and irreparable harm and injury would befall on the student community”.
Maharashtra minister Sunil Kedar, a Congress leader, tested positive for the virus and is admitted to a private hospital here, his party said on Friday. "He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday evening after his Covid-19 test came positive," Atul Londhe, state Congress spokesperson, told PTI. Kedar ((59) is the cabinet minister for animal husbandary, dairy development and youth welfare & sports.
The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), which allowed malls to reopen from Wednesday, has decided to conduct antigen tests on all persons, including customers, entering such establishments. “Each mall in Thane will be provided antigen testing kits by the TMC and a team will be present to test the customers as well as the staff of the mall,” Sandeep Malvi, TMC deputy commissioner, said Thursday. While malls were allowed to reopen across the state by the government from August 5, the Thane civic body had continued to keep their shutters down in view of the increasing coronavirus cases in the area. In its latest notification, the TMC finally allowed malls to reopen from September 2.
In a sign of discord between the ruling Shiv Sena and the NCP, Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was not in favour of lifting the lockdown in Pune in a hurried manner and indirectly blamed the Sharad Pawar-led party for the rise in Covid-19 cases in the city. “Uddhav saheb has maintained from the beginning that more attention needs to be given to Pune. The lockdown was lifted in a hurried manner and the chief minister had opposed it. But now Pune is following the Mumbai pattern (in tackling Covid-19 cases),” Raut told mediapersons.
After remaining unaffected for over five months during the pandemic, Lavasa Hill City has reported the first cases of Covid-19, with two management staffers testing positive for the novel coronavirus. The management, however, said the two employees who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week are based in Pune, and although they had been staying in Lavasa from August 3, they used to visit Pune during the weekends. The infected employees are being treated in Pune.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday visited the headquarters of Pimpri-Chichwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to take stock of how the civic body was handling the Covid-19 pandemic. NCP leaders said it was Pawar’s first visit to PCMC headquarters in 18 years. During his over one-hour stay at the PCMC headquarters, Pawar closely watched the functioning of the Covid war room, praised the system in place, made a few suggestions and promised all help from the state government in tackling the situation. Mayor Usha Dhore, Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, BJP House leader Namdev Dhake, corporators from BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena, as well as civic officials were also present during the interaction.
Forty-five auto thermal scanners, 195 hand sanitisation machines, 750 body temperature guns, 35,000 disposable masks and 1,625 PPE kits for emergency medical situations — across 285 stations spread across Delhi and NCR. Less than a week to go for the resumption of Metro services, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has started equipping stations with all devices and equipment that will greet commuters returning to the capital’s signature public transit from September 7. On Thursday, the DMRC unlocked the Rajiv Chowk interchange station for a demonstration of the ‘new normal’, where pre-recorded voices will advise commuters to “mind the gap” not just between the train coaches and platforms, but also among themselves. The sheer enormity of the challenge to ensure social distancing in a network that registers a footfall of over 30 lakh daily is not lost on the DMRC management, which maintains that more than bringing people back to the Metro, its focus will be on ensuring safe travel for every individual.
Five months after it made wearing a face mask in public places mandatory for citizens to control the spread of coronavirus disease, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said Thursday it has collected Rs 27.48 lakh in fines from 2,798 defaulters between April 9 and August 31. Additionally, the civic body has also issued warnings to 9,954 citizens. Wearing a face mask in a public place was made mandatory in the city in the first week of April. A defaulter can be fined up to Rs 1,000 for violating the order.
With over 80,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths for yet another day, the Covid-19 tally in India on Friday rose to 3,936,747 with 68.472 fatalities, latest data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed.
Two dhabas in Haryana’s Murthal were sealed on Thursday after their 75 workers tested positive for Covid-19, a senior official said. According to Sonipat Deputy Commissioner Shyam Lal Poonia, majority 65 workers tested positive at the Amrik-Sukhdev dhaba. Ten workers belonged to the other dhaba, he told PTI over the phone. Both dhabas are located in Sonipat’s Murthal and nearly 50 km away from Delhi.
Rajasthan BJP state president Satish Poonia has also tested positive for Covid-19. He is asymptomatic and under home-isolation, as advised by doctors.
Mohalla Clinics in Delhi will soon be turned into Covid-19 testing centres between 2 pm and 6 pm each day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told The Indian Express Thursday. The decision has been made to meet the target of conducting 40,000 tests per day, which was set by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as cases in the city have started increasing again after a dip for around three weeks. Presently, 452 mohalla clinics are operational in the city and around 20 are lying shut. The primary health centres, which have been one of the most ambitious projects of the Aam Aadmi Party, saw 37,05,904 people coming in for consultations between April and July this year. The clinics will work in shifts and will test people between 2 pm-6 pm. The working hours of the clinics are 8 am-2 pm.
In a clear sign that MGNREGA has emerged as a safety net for lakhs amid the economic distress triggered by Covid-19, over 83 lakh new households have been issued job cards under the scheme during the first five months of the current financial year. Signficantly, this number — from April 1 to September 3— is higher than the annual surge for the last seven years for which data is available on the NREGA portal. This is a jump of 28.32 per cent from the 64.70 lakh new job cards issued in the entire 2019-20 year. This sharp increase in new job cards comes at a time when a large number of migrants have returned to their villages in the wake of Covid.
Telangana has reported 18 per cent coronavirus positivity rate among health workers—the highest in the country. Maharashtra has the second highest rate at 16 per cent. On Thursday, the Centre pulled up states with a high positivity rate of Covid-19 among health workers—such as doctors, nurses, staffers and hospital cleaners—and asked them to evaluate the situation. The other states and Union Territories with a high Covid-19 positivity rate are Delhi (14 per cent), Karnataka (13 per cent), Puducherry (12 per cent) and Punjab (11 per cent). “We have drawn the attention of these states through the Ministry of Home Affairs. The issue highlights hospital infection practises. After all, we must raise the question how healthcare workers are getting infected. Is it the hospital, because that could be one reason, and if standard protection control is being followed or not,” Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, said Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest single-day spike of 1,079 coronavirus cases on Thursday taking the infection tally to 39,943, while the death toll due to the disease rose to 743 with 11 fatalities, officials said. "There were 1,079 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. This is for the first time that the number of fresh cases has crossed 1,000 in a 24-hour period," an official said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday the situation in the state was "not good", as 1,553 new COVID-19 cases and 10 fatalities were reported taking the infection count to 79,624 and death toll to 315. The number of active cases is 21,516. "The situation in the state is not good.There is a slip in the number of people getting infected with the virus in the last two days.It is due to the less number of tests carried out during the Onam festival holidays," he told reporters. The chief minister said the cases may increase in wake of the active functioning of markets and other public places during the Onam holidays.
Hotels, restaurants and clubs in the national capital have been permitted to serve liquor from September 9 on trial basis.
*India Thursday recorded over 83,000 fresh cases, the highest single-day rise in cases so far.
*Country's tally stood at 3,853,406 and toll rose to 67,376
*62% of total active cases reported from AP, Delhi, TN and Maharashtra
*India's daily COVID-19 testing numbers one of the highest in the world, says Health Ministry.
*Haryana government issues guidelines for film shootings in state.
WORLDWIDE
*Globally, over 25.88 million people infected and 857,881 have died
*UK may reimpose quarantine on travelers from Portugal
*China offers coronavirus vaccine candidates to aviation industry workers
*Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll appears to be easing for the first time since May
*Mexico leads in health worker deaths from COVID, says report
Himachal Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur said he has tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, four days ahead of the monsoon session of the assembly. Singh, 70, in a Facebook post urged people who came in his contact recently to quarantine themselves and get tested for the dreaded disease. The legislator from Mandi's Dharampur assembly segment said he had got himself tested after observing primary symptoms. The seven-time MLA expressed hope that he would be cured soon. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly will have a 12-day session from September 7
As metro services will resume across the country, except Maharashtra, in a graded manner between September 7 and 12, officials at Rajiv Chowk Metro station in New Delhi make necessary changes for the resumption of services. take a look. Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal.
Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reteirated that per million COVID19 cases in the country is much lesser when compared to other. He said Deaths per million (population) of India is among the lowest in the world.
The Union health Ministry in its briefing on Thursday said that Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra account for 70 per cent of total COVID19 deaths in the country. It also said that there has been a considerable decrease in the number of cases in these states.There has been 13.7% weekly decrease in the number of active cases in Andhra Pradesh, 16.1% decrease in Karnataka, 6.8% decrease in Maharashtra and 23.9% decrease in Tamil Nadu, 17.1% decrease in Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi University to submit the data relating to number of students who have applied online for seeking digital degree certificates and figures of such certificates which have been issued. The high court's direction came on being informed that despite judicial order, students have not been issued digital degrees by the varsity.
The Haryana government today issued standard operating procedures and guidelines for resuming film shootings in the state that include measures such as social distancing and mandatory use of face covers or masks for cast and crew, except for actors in front of the camera. As per the guidelines, the duration of the shooting should be restricted to the minimum possible time and not more than 50 people should be allowed to be present at a spot. "Locations will be chosen taking into consideration whether the locality falls in or near containment zones. Permissions and approvals will be given only for safe zones," an official spokesman of the Home Department was quoted as saying by PTI.
Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama on Wednesday declined to extend the deadline for admission under Right to Education (RTE) Act’s 25 per cent reservation in private schools saying “it might affect education”. A lot of parents have been demanding an extension in the deadline stating that in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions they could not procure required documents. Also, several parents whose applications were rejected due to incomplete documents or any discrepancy in the details submitted online by them demanded an opportunity to correct the “unintentional” errors. Applicants were informed about these errors only after the deadline, thus ruling out any chance to get their applications corrected. After declaration of admissions under RTE on August 7 following which online applications were accepted from August 19 to August 29.
It can't be said that Delhi is witnessing a second wave of the pandemic, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday, a day after the national capital recorded 2,509 fresh cases -- the highest single-day spike in nearly two months. Speaking to reporters here, he said people "should not stress about numbers". "You cannot say it is a second wave. We could have called it a second wave if there were no positive cases for one or two months and then cases would have started coming again. The virus is still there in Delhi. You should not stress about numbers," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Bengaluru Metro will also resume operations in phases from September 7 with peak hour trains along the Purple Line. Those on the green line will ply from September 9 onwards. During the first phase, the six-coach trains will operate from 8-11 am and 4.30-7.30 pm on the purple line.
Chennai Metro will resume operations in phases from September 7 from 8 am to 8 pm. The Blue Line which connects Airport to Washermanpet will begin services from September 7. The green line which connects Chennai Central to St Thomas mount will operate from September 9 with SOPs in place.
Gearing up to resume the bus service in the city, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has put the onus on conductors to ensure that no suspected Covid-19 patient is allowed to board the bus and no passenger is allowed entry without a mask. In the standard operating procedure (SOP) declared for restarting the bus service, which has been halted for five months, Managing Director Rajendra Jagtap said each PMPML bus will ply with half its passenger capacity — 20 passengers, 17 sitting and three standing — at a time. The passengers will sit in a zig-zag manner on alternate seats, he said. “If a suspected patient tried to board the bus, then a request should be made to that person not to get on the bus, and if need be, contact the emergency numbers of PMPML, PMC, PCMC and the district collectorate for further action.”
Ganesh idol immersions in Pune went off peacefully, sans the traditional colourful processions or the crowded farewells, on the last day of the festival on Tuesday. Pune Police Commissioner K Venkatesham posted a message on Twitter, in which he thanked the residents of Pune and said everything was done with discipline and in a simple manner, keeping environmental concerns in mind. A huge police force was deployed near the famous Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple, as well as the five manache Ganpatis in the city, on immersion day. All manache Ganpati Mandals immersed their Ganesh idols in artificial water tanks by 1.30 pm on Tuesday. Idols of Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati, Shrimant Bhau Rangari Ganesh Mandal and Akhil Mandai Mandal were immersed without any processions before 7 pm. Police forces were deployed at various water bodies like rivers and canals in the city to prevent crowding.
The Delhi High Court today allowed a breath analyser test through tube process for air traffic controllers (ATC) that was earlier suspended in view of the pandemic. The high court modified its March 23 interim order suspending breath analyser tests (BAT) through tube process for ATCs, saying the DGCA will be bound by the June 16 recommendations of the medical board. Justice Navin Chawla allowed the application of DGCA seeking modification of the earlier order and to implement the medical report of Directorate General of Medical Services (DGMS). As per the DGMS medical board's recommendation, one machine would be used per person and not used again for the next 12 hours.
Makkal Needhi Maiam state president and former legislator, Dr MAS Subramanian, died of coronavirus in Puducherry, official sources told news agency PTI. The 70-year old leader breathed his last at a private hospital. He is survived by a daughter. DMK President M K Stalin and MNM founder Kamal Haasan condoled the former MLA's death.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that only 25 per cent of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirants in the state appeared for the test on Tuesday due to the Centre’s “adamant attitude” of holding examination amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we have raised serious concern over the Centre’s decision to hold terminal examination for various courses in colleges and universities and also to conduct National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and JEE in September. Unfortunately, the Centre refused to postpone it,” she told reporters at Nabanna. She said, “The students had requested the Centre to postpone the exam for a few weeks, but their requests were turned down. Who has given the right to destroy the careers of students across the country? Why are they so adamant?”
Metro services will resume across the country, except Maharashtra, in a graded manner between September 7 and 12, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said Wednesday, urging commuters to follow Covid-19 restrictions and “name and shame” those violating them. DA Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been worked out, under which commuters will have to wear masks, undergo thermal screening at stations, and can use only smart cards. Cash transactions will not be allowed inside stations. Both Puri and Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra told a press conference that trains will skip stations where passengers are seen violating social distancing norms.